Entertainment
32 Years Later, James Cameron’s Hardcore Action Movie Is Still One of the Best Ever Made
James Cameron is not only one of the most successful filmmakers of all-time, but also a major Hollywood innovator who revolutionized visual effects and created the template for what is considered to be a modern blockbuster. Even though Cameron pushed the boundaries of what was possible with the science fiction genre, True Lies was a spy film that predated the ’90s resurgence of the genre when James Bond returned in Goldeneye a year later, and Tom Cruise starred in Mission: Impossible a year after that. Even though Cameron had already forged a relationship with Arnold Schwarzenegger through their work on The Terminator and its sequel, True Lies asked the Austrian action star to step outside of his comfort zone and play a flawed family man. The result was a film that offered all the action and spectacle that a summer blockbuster necessitated, but also included a surplus of heart.
Schwarzenegger’s plays Harry Tasker in True Lies, an international secret agent who has to mask his identity by pretending to be a lowly computer hardware salesman to everyone, even his wife Helen (Jamie Lee Curtis) and their daughter Dana (Eliza Dushku). It’s amidst his pursuit of an international terrorist organization that True Lies merges its espionage storyline with the family comedy, as Harry’s attempts to rekindle his marriage go disastrously awry. True Lies is a rarity because it is genuinely suspenseful, even if much of the humor feels fairly tongue-in-cheek. It’s also a feat of technical wizardry that has aged well because how it utilizes filmmaking components that aren’t entirely reliant on visual effects.
‘True Lies’ Was a Self-Aware Espionage Thriller
Cameron is often not given nearly enough credit for his skills as a writer, as True Lies is very clever in how it creates tension between Harry and Helen. Harry has to make his life seem as boring and uneventful as possible in order to avoid attracting suspicion, which only makes Helen believe that he isn’t being emotionally engaged with her; it wouldn’t make sense for someone in a fairly mundane line of work to be involved in so many international trips, especially when he doesn’t really explain to her what his work entails. Helen understands that Harry has been withholding, which she perceives as disinterest. Although the ‘90s were an era in which cheating was stigmatized in films, Helen’s willingness to have an affair with the shady car salesman Simon (Bill Paxton) is a genuinely heartbreaking moment for Harry when he realizes that he hasn’t been there for his family.
Even though Cameron had given Schwarzenegger his most famous role with the T-1000 in The Terminator, True Lies featured a more challenging performance because he had to show vulnerability. Few movie stars in the history of Hollywood have had as much charisma as Schwarzenegger, but Harry is a character who is flawed as both a husband and a spy, as he often assumes that he has to bottle his emotions and prevent others from helping him. The beauty of the film is that Harry unlocks his potential to be a better hero by working alongside Helen, and that they become closer as a couple as a result of saving the world together. Cameron has frequently put empowered female characters at the center of his films, and True Lies was one of his many blockbusters that prominently included themes of maternity. Helen isn’t weakened in any way by the fact that she is a mother, as it’s her love for their daughter Dana that gives her even more strength and courage to do the right thing.
‘True Lies’ Is Pure ‘90s Escapism
The chemistry between Schwarzenegger and Curtis is remarkable, but True Lies has a stacked cast filled with great actors, ensuring that each of the most minor characters has something memorable to do. Paxton is genuinely hilarious as a complete scumbag, showing once again why he was such a great collaborator with Cameron. Tom Arnold also provides a lot of humor to the film with his role as Harry’s partner, but he has a critical role in the story itself, and is not solely utilized for comic relief. Art Malik, who had previously played the main villain in the Bond film The Living Daylights, is also perfect as the antagonist Salim Abu Aziz — there’s often a tendency to give bad guys some sort of tragic backstory, but True Lies simply presents a villain who is evil for the sake of it.
Even though Cameron has not ended his reign as the “King of Blockbusters,” as the recent success of Avatar: Fire and Ash indicates, True Lies feels like a film that couldn’t be made today. It was based on an obscure French comedy, but was presented to audiences as an original story that wasn’t part of an established franchise. The movie was carried by the weight of its leads in Curtis and Schwarzenegger, and few could sell a film of this size purely on their involvement. There’s also the fact that True Lies felt a bit more innocent in its depiction of terrorism and urban devastation, and has been colored in a completely different context in the aftermath of 9/11. Although there has been no shortage of fans that have begged Cameron to consider making a sequel, True Lies may be a product of the ‘90s that will never be replicated.
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